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Inspired by a Salon.com article written by Jonathan Rauch,[2] Krikket (aka Doug Krick), a libertarian activist from Illinois while living in Massachusetts, founded the Pink Pistols in July 2000. The organization had at least 45 chapters, as of October 2014.[1] Those chapters are located in 33 states and three countries that are principally made up of gun-owning LGBT individuals, though neither status is mandatory for membership.[3]

The political orientation of the Pink Pistols is considered unusual due to the popular perception in the United States of firearms ownership as a "conservative issue" and sexuality as a "liberal issue." However, there is nothing within either of these two single issues that is mutually exclusive and a variety of other pro-gun organizations exist for groups not typically associated with gun rights (for example, the "Democrats for the Second Amendment").[4]

Pink Pistols' activities include firing range visits and political activism. The group occasionally produces report cards on politicians, rating their position on issues of interest to members. According to pinkpistols.org:

The Pink Pistols get together at least once a month at local firing ranges to practice shooting, and to acquaint people new to firearms with them. We will help you select a firearm, acquire a permit, and receive proper training in its safe and legal use for self-defense. The more people know that members of our community may be armed, the less likely they will be to single us out for attack.

According to spokesperson Gwen Patton, "We don’t want people to hurt us, we want people to run away from us, and the best way we have found to do that is to be armed".[1] Patton has also stated that, "the Pink Pistols tend to get a better response from firearms supporters than from homosexuals".[5]